QPR midfielder Joey Barton has stated that his men will be motivated to beat Manchester City on the last day of the season, and that his former club should not celebrate lifting the Premier League title just yet.
Roberto Mancini’s men just need to beat relegation-threatened Rangers to lift their first top-flight crown since 1968, but the Loftus Road outfit need a point to ensure they avoid the drop.
Barton has warned City that they will face a motivated team, who they should not underestimate.
“I can’t wait for the game – I can’t wait to go to Man City,” he told Mirror Football.
“They expect us to turn up and them to probably stuff us and go on and win the league.
“If that is their attitude, they will get a reality check. It’s 11 men against 11 men, there is a lot of pressure out there – I can’t wait for it.
“We have one game to go and we are masters of our own destiny,” he concluded.
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One person was killed and 16 were injured after a section of FC Twente’s Grolsch Veste stadium collapsed during renovations on Thursday.Work was underway to upgrade the stadium in Enschede, the Netherlands, when the roof of one stand collapsed after two support beams buckled.
Rescue workers rushed to the scene to attempt to free the construction workers who were trapped in the collapse, with a local government spokeswoman for the city of Enschede confirming there had been on fatality.
”There are 14 people injured and unfortunately there is one fatal injury, in addition to the 14 injuries,” the spokesman said.
“Ten people were treated in hospital and two of those people were severely injured. The exact nature of the injuries I cannot tell you at the moment.”
”Everyone is out to our knowledge. People are still searching with dogs and specialist camera teams, but that is as an extra precaution, a double-check.”
It was later confirmed that two further people who were injured in the collapse had taken themselves to hospital suffering bone, taking the total known number of injured to 16.
The Grolsch Veste stadium, which currently holds 24,000 people, is being expanded to a capacity of 32,000.
Twente won the Eredivisie title in 2010 and finished second last season, beating champions Ajax to win the Dutch Cup.
There can be no underestimating exactly how important Cesc Fabregas is for the Gunners. When he’s on song, he controls the flow of their game, he is their engine, their anchor and their forward thrust. The Spanish midfielder is without doubt one of the world’s best footballers and if Arsenal are to have any success over the next season or two, it will likely be thanks to him. The worry with a player taking up such an important role in a squad is that the team may find themselves lacking direction and ability without him. Perhaps this is why the “Fabregas is off to Barcelona” stories caused such a stir last summer. How exactly would the Gunners cope without their best player?
Admittedly, the Gunners have already had a taste of what a world without Fabregas would be like. Their captain has suffered with a niggling hamstring problem this season which has seen him ruled out of a number of games and lacking match fitness for a number more. Fabregas’ absence has had a positive knock-on affect for Arsenal: the rise to prominence of a certain young Jack Wilshere.
The talented 18-year-old midfielder is in the throes of his breakthrough season at the Emirates Stadium. He’s had a number of opportunities to impress and has really left his mark. It’s clear that he looks up to Fabregas. When asked about his relationship to the current Arsenal captain, Wilshere responded, “He’s a great leader and I want to be like that when I’m older. It’s always been part of my game, and that’s my aim really, to be Arsenal captain one day.”
Wilshere has all the qualities necessary to make a good Arsenal captain in the future. He’s talented, he can pass and he can get stuck in. He’s capable of leading by example and is not without a feisty and competitive side that will aid him in spurring his troops towards victory. He is without doubt a vital part of Arsenal’s future.
Cesc Fabregas’ Arsenal future, on the other hand, is littered with question marks. Despite his fondness for the club, its fans and Arsene Wenger, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll stay an Arsenal player for the rest of his career. He will at some stage make a move back to Barcelona. The question is not whether it will happen, but when it will happen.
In this respect, the Gunners should attempt to hold onto Cesc Fabregas for as long as possible. Not only is he a fantastic footballer, but he’s also a great role model for the Gunners’ younger players, including Wilshere. If the rumours of Barcelona making a £10 million bid for Arsenal midfielder Denilson are true, it could be that the Gunners midfield is about to become a little thinner. This will make Wenger even keener to keep hold of the assets that he has.
Whilst Wilshere represents the future of Arsenal football club, Fabregas represents the chance for success in the present. In this respect, Wilshere’s rise to prominence will not have Wenger pondering whether or not he can afford to let Fabregas head to Barcelona. My hope is that Wilshere stays a one-club man, who becomes an Arsenal great and that Fabregas remains with the Gunners for a long time.
Want to stay in the loop? Keep in touch with what’s going on, follow me on Twitter @ThePerfectPass
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Everton fans are showing the love for fan favourite Seamus Coleman after the Irishman spoke about his return from injury.
Seamus Coleman spoke to Everton’s official YouTube channel this week and needless to say the fans are absolutely loving it.
The 29 year-old Irishman broke his leg on international duty last year after a horror tackle from Wales’ Neil Taylor. He returned to action in the 2-1 win over Leicester at the end of January, and has been gradually building towards full fitness.
Coleman was signed for a remarkable £60,000 back in 2009, and has gone on to make 251 appearances for the Blues, adding 24 goals and 25 assists in that time. There’s no doubt he was a big miss for Everton this year, and the 29 year-old says he was humbled by the support on his return.
“That night in particular (against Leicester), to come out and know every Evertonian in this stadium was really happy to see me back, it is a very humbling feeling,” Coleman said.
Everton fans adore Coleman for his tireless effort and of course his ability, but his understanding of the club and the fans is what really makes him special.
“It just goes to show that if you do things the right way, work hard, be professional, give your all to the cause, that you will get that love back and I definitely felt that.”
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Everton fans have been showing their support for the Irishman on Twitter as well, and some of the best reactions can be found below.
What a mouth-watering weekend this will shape up to be with some of the fixtures on show. There is a massive Manchester derby on Sunday to look forward to with a stuttering Manchester City, and a re-born Manchester United both looking to claim some points to improve their recent fortunes, it will be a battle to savour with lots of talking points. Newcastle have enjoyed somewhat of a revival lately as well and face an out of form Liverpool in Saturday’s early kick-off. In form Southampton and West Ham take on Hull City and Stoke City respectively, can both teams continue their adventures in the dizzy heights of the top four? Or will the winning runs come to an end for these two early season high flyers? Relegation threatened QPR and Burnley face tricky trips away to big London teams, Chelsea will host west London rivals QPR on Saturday looking to extend their lead at the top of the table whilst Arsenal host Burnley in another 3pm fixture in a match that may leave the hapless Clarets still in search of their first win. Let us take a look at Football Fancast’s predictions for this weekend’s fixtures below.
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Click on Arsenal’s gaffer to reveal all
Football – RSC Anderlecht v Arsenal – UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matchday Three Group D – Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels, Belgium – 22/10/14Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger before the matchMandatory Credit: Action Images / Paul ChildsLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
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Saturday 1st November 12:45 Newcastle vs Liverpool
Alan Pardew has hit out at the club’s fans who were calling for his head with two Premier League victories in a row, including an impressive away result at White Hart Lane against Tottenham Hotspur which was then followed by the scalping of Manchester City in the cup at the Etihad in midweek. They are enjoying a sort of purple patch at the moment and confidence should be a bit higher going into this game against a Liverpool side that have been way below par so far this season. Liverpool will be hoping to get marquee signing Mario Balotelli firing the goals in for them soon, after being disappointing so far. This will be a tough game for both sides and based on current form you have to fancy the home side to nick a point here.
Football Fancast prediction: 1-1 draw.
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Saturday 1st November 15:00 Leicester City vs West Brom
Leicester returned to the Premier League and took it be storm with some impressive displays and hard fought victories, including their great comeback against Manchester United. They can be nothing short of proud of how they have performed so far but have dipped in recent games and find themselves close to the bottom three with one draw and three defeats from their last four games. West Brom are a tricky customer when they decide to turn up on the day and in Saido Berahino they have an awesome young talent who can cause any team all sorts of problems, and you have to feel that it will be his goals that will save West Brom from trouble this season, as they do not seem to have much more to offer in terms of goals. Leicester look like the most likely to come out on top of what will probably be quite a scrappy affair.
Football Fancast prediction: 2-1 Leicester win.
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Saturday 1st November 15:00 Chelsea vs QPR
What can you say about Chelsea so far this season that has not already been said? Jose Mourinho’s men look unstoppable and they are like a bull in a china shop at the moment. The football has been entertaining, the players are bullish, confident and on top form, the manager is quite simply getting everything right and all that he touches is turning to gold at the moment. They are missing key striker Diego Costa, but that won’t worry them, there are plenty more goals in this team at the moment. On the complete other side of the scale, we have QPR who have been woeful at best for the majority of the games they have played in. There is a very public issue from the manager here with player fitness, and those who have been fit enough to play, have not shown the desire and passion to win games-until their home game against Liverpool that is. They pushed on from that and beat Aston Villa 2-0 in their last outing and are finally starting to look like they understand what is required to win a game of football. They will not have enough to defeat an in form Chelsea and this has goal-fest written all over it.
Football Fancast prediction: 4-0 Chelsea win.
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Saturday 1st November 15:00: Hull City vs Sothampton
The home side have enjoyed a fairly decent start to their campaign, flourished mainly due to some decent business in the transfer market by Steve Bruce. Their best signing looks to be Mo Diame from West Ham. This guy is enjoying a re-birth as a player, being used in his favoured central position the powerhouse has bagged four goals out of six games for the Tigers and is looking to be quite the snip at only £4Million. Their opponents, however, are the team of the moment having endured a fire sale of players in the summer; they have actually come out on top with what looks to be a better squad than last season (against all odds). Southampton are simply flawless at the moment and fully deserve their spot in the top two of the league. This will be an interesting match with plenty of goals in it, one that the South Coasters will edge, but only narrowly.
Football Fancast Prediction: 3-2 Southampton win.
Saturday 1st November 15:00: Arsenal vs Burnley.
It is hard to ignore the fact that Arsenal have suffered as a result of various injuries to key players and with that in mind it would most likely be a three horse race for the title right now than a two horse race between Man City and Chelsea. That said, the truth is they are not in the mix despite how well Arsene Wenger recruited over the summer. The Gunners only have one victory from their last four games, and will be hoping that they can rediscover winning ways with the visit of Burnley to the Emirates this weekend. The away team have been nothing short of awful since their return to the big time and are sitting at the bottom of the table, yet to find a single victory this season and you have to feel that this weekend will not be the weekend that they find their first set of three points despite facing a weak Arsenal side.
Football Fancast prediction: 2-0 Arsenal win.
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Saturday 1st November 15:00 Stoke City vs West Ham
Stoke are always one team that are very unpredictable, but on their day, especially at home, it is very hard to predict anything other than a home side win due to how strong and hard they are to break down. They do have some key players missing for this game, more notably so their main striker Peter Crouch who picked up a suspension following Stoke’s game in the cup during the week. They are not at full strength and will have to dig deep to find a result against West Ham. The Hammers also have their own injury worries with top scorer Diafra Sakho being an injury doubt for this game. That having been said, there are goals coming in from all sorts of other players for them at the moment and they are a team full of confidence after their recent results which see them sitting fourth in the table at the moment. You have to fancy West Ham for a win in this game, but they will find it a very tricky three points to earn, trickier even than against Manchester City last week.
Football Fancast Prediction: 2-1 West Ham win.
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Saturday 1st November 15:00 Everton vs Swansea
There isn’t much between these two sides going into this clash. Both teams sit in mid-table after a fairly decent and comfortable start to the campaign. Neither team will be in trouble this season, but neither of them will find themselves challenging for major glory either. Everton have their eye on getting into the top four, as they always do and are not too far off of the mark, sitting four points behind the fourth spot at the moment. Their summer signing of Samuel Eto’o seems to have been their best bit of business and they will hope he can continue to score goals throughout the season for them. Over at Swansea, Garry Monk has done really well in his short managerial career so far and can be very proud of the football his team are playing recently. There is not much to pick from in this game and both teams will probably cancel each other out with some exciting football in the mix.
Football Fancast prediction: 1-1 draw.
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Sunday 2nd November 13:30: Manchester City vs Manchester United
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The biggest game of the season so far and what an exciting prospect this is turning out to be. The games between the two sides are usually a sizzling encounter to say the least but it seems that this weekend has a lot riding on it for both sides. Manchester City, arguably the better of the two sides in the last two seasons have not been up to their impeccable standard so far this season. Their defence has leaked 10 goals already this campaign and their recent form makes for bad reading. They were outclassed last weekend by West Ham who fully deserved their three points and they have faltered since then in the cup, being knocked out by Newcastle. Not only that but David Silva is out of this one, and he has been their best player so far. Manchester United are also a team whose fortunes have been down recently and are going through a re-building period under their new manager Louis van Gaal. He has signed some great players up front but forgot to re-enforce his defence, meaning they have had a poor start to this campaign. Give them a couple more seasons and they will be mixing it up with the trophies once more. This game will be interesting and, if anything, I fear that City’s bad run is set to continue here.
Football Fancast prediction: 1-0 Manchester United win.
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Sunday 2nd November 16:00 Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur
Both these teams have the potential to do well this season, and both of them have fallen flat on their faces so far. Bags of potential in both sides and a complete failure to live up to it. Aston Villa have looked the worse out of the two having lost five out of their last five games, just after their manager signed a five-year extension to his contract. Irony is a cruel mistress at times and Tottenham Hotspur are a mystery, great squad, good manager who knows what he is doing, yet poor results and players using pitch size as an excuse. They need to man up and start trying harder. This has a bore draw written all over it other than the inform Erik Lamela for Spurs who will most likely be the difference in this game to edge it for Tottenham.
Football Fancast Prediction: 1-0 Tottenham win.
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Monday 3rd November 20:00: Crystal Palace vs Sunderland.
The home team go into this fixture with mixed fortunes so far. They looked at the early part of the season that they would face certain doom after their saviour from last season; Tony Pulis quit his job before the season had even started. Ex manager Neil Warnock has come to the rescue for Palace and helped them onto some decent football and a couple of victories, however, they have not been up to Pulis’ standard from last season and will still find themselves struggling to avoid a dogfight this season. Sunderland are a team that you would have expected to be sitting in the top 10 but have instead crashed and burned into the bottom three after two defeats on the bounce, one of which they will want to forget as quickly as possible and I will not mention it here (8-0 Southampton shhhh). They looked even worse against Arsenal than they did against Southampton and only found one victory so far this season. Poyet has a massive job on his hands this season and he will struggle to stop them staying in the bottom three this weekend.
Football fancast prediction: 3-1 Crystal Palace win.
Tottenham Hotspur were sitting pretty in third place when last season’s January transfer window reached a sorry conclusion. The club were keeping London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea at arms length, while the coattails of both Manchester outfits hovered tantalisingly close above them.
However, Harry Redknapp’s decision to purchase the dilapidated duo of Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen arguably triggered a monumental collapse that would eventually mean they missed out on the bright lights of the Champions League. At present, Spurs are locked in a battle for fourth with rapidly improving Everton and surprise package West Brom, meaning the ability to learn from past mistakes has never been more important.
Andre Villas-Boas appears to have his feet firmly under the table at White Hart Lane, having finally brushed aside the smear campaign that seemed destined to execute his downfall. As a result, he must use this opportunity to stamp his own authority on an area of football where his predecessor was highly prolific.
A host of premium names have once again been linked with Tottenham, with fans inevitably dreaming of yet more inspired purchases. The spotlight will fall on Porto playmaker Joao Moutinho, who came within a whisker of joining the club in the summer. Other targets reportedly under consideration include Shakhtar Donetsk superstar Willian and Ajax starlet Christian Eriksen. Both players may strike you as mere figures of a proverbial pipedream, but how many people were caught aghast at Rafael van der Vaart’s arrival in 2010?
The January window is a notoriously difficult playground to conduct business in, especially as negotiations would typically last for weeks rather than days. Teams are increasingly reluctant to destabilise their squad midway through the season, which can lead to transfer valuations soaring through the nearest roof. I imagine both Liverpool and Chelsea are still paying for their rash moves for Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll, in more ways than one.
Nevertheless there are bargains to be had, glistening in the spring sunshine like diamonds in the rough. David Moyes and Alan Pardew benefited profusely from their courting of Nikica Jelavic and Papiss Cisse, which saw their respective seasons continue to flourish. It is this environment that brings out the best in chairman Daniel Levy as he hustles and haggles his way through numerous financially bewildering deals, but the budding relationship with his new manager will surely be put to the test as they both tussle to get their own way.
According to reports, the signing of Emmanuel Adebayor was the only purchase positively reinforced by Villas-Boas. Levy was the mastermind behind the acquisition of the likes of Gyfli Sigurdsson, Clint Dempsey and Hugo Lloris, which have perhaps hampered the Portuguese boss as much as they’ve helped him. It will be interesting to watch which targets – if any – the club are able to attract and whether we will witness yet another modern manager lament his lack of free reign in the transfer market.
Levy may have his intentions diverted elsewhere during the New Year, as the club look to finance their new £400m stadium. He will also be keen not to upset their creditable wage structure that has seen them triumph over adversaries Arsenal, even if they failed to do so on the pitch.
The startling statistic that reveals Spurs would be top of the table if games finished after 80 minutes is particularly interesting. Whether you consider such data fruitless or not, it could be evidence of an inferior mentality under Villas-Boas or a sign that the options on the bench simply aren’t good enough.
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Either way, if the club wants to reaffirm their lust for Champions League qualification then they need to use this transfer window as a real statement of intent.
Everton will look to boost their chances of finishing the season in seventh position when they face Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.
The Clarets currently lie in that spot and are without a Premier League win since December 12th after surrendering a 1-0 goal lead late on to draw 1-1 with Southampton in Lancashire last weekend, but the Toffees failed to take advantage as they were beaten 1-0 by Watford at Vicarage Road.
The result left the Merseyside outfit in ninth position and three points behind their opponents on Saturday, and it certainly won’t be an easy task to take all three points back south.
While Sam Allardyce’s men have a decent record at home so far in 2018, they have lost five straight matches on the road in all competitions, and haven’t tasted success on their travels since they beat Newcastle United 1-0 in December.
The former England boss will know that his side can’t afford to slip up again this weekend if they are to keep alive their chances of ending the campaign in seventh, and they will certainly take some solace from Burnley’s poor form in recent months.
The 63-year-old made two enforced changes because of injury against the Hornets but otherwise stuck with the same XI that had beaten Crystal Palace 3-1 previously. Following the below-par display from a number of players last weekend, however, he may well be considering making more alterations against the Clarets.
Here is how Everton must line up against Burnley on Saturday, ahead of Jordan Pickford in goal…
Defence
Allardyce was forced into two changes in his backline for the trip to Watford with Seamus Coleman and January addition Eliaquim Mangala both missing out through injury, and the duo were replaced by Jonjoe Kenny and Ashley Williams.
With Mangala definitely out and Coleman a major doubt, those two are likely to continue but there may well be a change at left-back with Leighton Baines potentially making his return after injury.
Cuco Martina has been a reliable performer in Baines’ absence but he struggled against former Toffee Gerard Deulofeu last weekend, and Allardyce should prefer to have a specialist left-back in the form of the 33-year-old on the pitch from the start at Turf Moor.
Midfield
Allardyce has tried a 4-3-3 system from the start of Everton’s last two away matches and with that formation clearly not having the required effect, he should look to change things up at Turf Moor.
A 4-4-1-1 system may be better against the Clarets and would also match up to the one that Sean Dyche usually uses. It would allow the 63-year-old to play both Theo Walcott and Yannick Bolasie on the wings, with Morgan Schneiderlin returning alongside Idrissa Gueye.
Bringing the Frenchman in for Wayne Rooney, who was disappointing against Watford, and Tom Davies should make the Merseyside outfit more solid defensively. The Toffees also have the wingers in Walcott and Bolasie to provide real threat from the flanks and help their team pick up a vital three points.
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Attack
Gylfi Sigurdsson has been playing on the left side of a front three for Everton in recent weeks but he would probably prefer to play a more central role, and he would get that opportunity in a 4-4-1-1 system.
The Iceland international would have something of a free role behind Oumar Niasse up top, and it would potentially allow him to be more influential and have a bigger impact on the pitch for his team. That can only be a good thing for the Merseyside outfit in their quest to turn their poor away run around.
In the most dramatic, unexpected and exciting transfer of summer deadline day, Manchester United wrapped up a loan deal for Monaco striker Radamel Falcao yesterday afternoon.
The Colombian international’s quality is well known, being commonly regarded as one of the most potent strikers in world football. And the Red Devils have secured his services until at least next summer after paying a £6million loan fee, with the option of making his temporary switch permanent.
He may not have been the defensive signing many Red Devils were hoping for this summer but Falcao has a lot to offer the Red Devils.
In fact, he has so much to offer them, we at Football FanCast have felt compelled to conjure this list of the FIVE things the 28 year-old will bring to Manchester United.
[ffc-gallery]CLICK ON UNITED’S LATEST SIGNING TO REVEAL ALL
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GOALS GOALS GOALS
Football – AS Monaco v Tottenham Hotspur – Pre Season Friendly – Stade Louis II, Monaco – 13/14 – 3/8/13Radamel Falcao – AS Monaco Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Jed Leicester
Of course, the obvious advantage to signing Radamel Falcao is that his goal-scoring credentials are nothing short of ridiculous.
Throughout spells with River Plate, FC Porto, Atletico Madrid and Monaco, the Colombia international has produced a career return of 200 goals in 305 appearances . That includes 18 goals in just 16 outings during the 2010/2011 Europa League tournament – the highest campaign total in the history of the competition.
Falcao has found goals easy to come by in the Argentinean, Portuguese, Spanish and French top flights and in the European second tier. In fact, last season at Monaco was the first campaign since moving to Europe in 2009 in which the 28 year-old hasn’t netted over 30 times.
So without further ado, here’s a look at the South American’s best ever goals:
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EXCITEMENT
Football – AS Monaco v Tottenham Hotspur – Pre Season Friendly – Stade Louis II, Monaco – 13/14 – 3/8/13Radamel Falcao – AS Monaco Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Jed Leicester
Radamel Falcao may not be the world-class defensive signing Manchester United fans were desperately hoping for this deadline day but in the words of Neil Lennon, it’s a transfer that truly captures the imagination.
Premier League punters have been witnessing the 28 year-old’s goalscoring exploits from afar for years, but now they’ll get a close-up look of the striker in action.
That may seem like a rather superficial point but it’s exactly the kind of pick-me-up everyone involved with Manchester United needs right now. The club currently finds itself at its lowest low since the 1980s, after succumbing to a 7th place finish last season and picking up just two points in Louis van Gaal’s three opening Premier League fixtures.
Suddenly United are an exciting, modern, entertaining and vibrant proposition once again, having spent the last twelve months looking horrendously outdated whilst playing some incredibly drab football.
Whether you agree that Falcao was the signing the Red Devils needed or not, you’ll undoubtedly feel compelled to see how he gets on in a United jersey.
OPTIONS
Louis van Gaal’s decision to introduce a 3-4-1-2 system at Old Trafford has understandably proved to be a controversial one – not least because the Red Devils are yet to win a competitive match with a formation that’s long-been considered alien to the Premier League.
But amid the debate, it’s long been forgotten that the Dutchman is employing the formation out of necessity. Right now, none of his full-backs are fit, Manchester Uniteds squad is completely absent of any top-class wide men and fitting Juan Mata, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney into the same starting line-up is proving to be a difficult conundrum.
But the arrival of Radamel Falcao does give van Gaal vital options. It’s already been alleged that he could revert back to his more favoured 4-3-3 formation, or at least a variation of it, whilst pushing Wayne Rooney deeper into midfield is another alternative worth consideration.
Furthermore, the United boss no longer has to rely upon a select few key players. Falcao’s arrival allows Rooney, Mata and RVP to be rested without compromising the quality of the starting XI. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, with rumours that the Netherlands international needs knee surgery.
THE BEST STRIKE-FORCE IN THE LEAGUE
Manchester United’s frontline was already rather envious but Radamel Falcao’s arrival brings it to a whole new level.
Indeed, defending could well prove to be the Red Devils’ undoing this season after Louis van Gaal failed to address his side’s desperate need for a top-quality centre-back on deadline day.
But at the other end of the pitch, United look absolutely deadly. Just take a gander at Falcao, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie’s stats for the 2012/13 campaign:
In short, imagine this:
Combined with this…
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Louis van Gaal has often commented on the importance of his attacking philosophy and although there may be a drastic imbalance within the United squad, a world-class strike-force fits the LVG mentality perfectly.It could even be argued to be intrinsically more important to the Dutchman’s philosophy than a water-tight defence.
It’s also reminiscent of United in the late 1990s, when their dominance of the English top flight was fuelled by the incredible strike-force of Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
STATEMENT OF INTENT
With Manchester United out of the Champions League, they needed to make a statement in the transfer market to assure fans, pundits and rivals alike that they’re still a part of the European elite.
It could be argued that was already achieved with the record-breaking £59million signing of Angel di Maria, and in that regard, the Colombia international’s arrival can be considered a double-whammy.
After all, this is one of the most potent and sought-after strikers in world football we’re talking about, and Manchester United fought off Arsenal, Manchester City and Real Madrid for his signature.
Even without their involvement in Europe’s top competition, Falcao’s temporary services keeps Manchester United on the map.
Martin O’Neill applauded the fighting spirit of Steven Fletcher, who overcame a late fitness test, for his part in Sunderland’s 3-0 Premier League win against Reading.
The Scottish international was doubtful for the game after suffering an ankle injury last week, but made a speedy recovery in time for kick-off.
He managed to get on the score-sheet as the Black Cats rose out of the relegation zone, and O’Neill was delighted with his striker’s attitude:
“Fletcher had done absolutely no work whatsoever. When you were talking to me yesterday, I genuinely wasn’t sure that he could play in the game.” He told SkySports.
“He came out this morning just to do a bit of a loosener and thought he wanted to give it a go.
“I personally thought if he could see it to half-time and just slightly into the second half, he would do great for us.”He has been terrific for us, really terrific. You just feel that he is likely to get you a goal in there.
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“Danny Rose did very, very well, but when it came in, he turned it into a goal for us and it was great.”
James McClean gave Sunderland the lead after just three minutes, before Fletcher flicked home with half-an-hour gone to double the lead. Stephane Sessegnon completed the scoring late on with a calm finish.
According to Turkish journalist Safak Malatya on his Twitter account, Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in signing Besiktas centre-back Domagoj Vida, rated at £6.3m by Transfermarkt, this summer, and Wolves fans have been quick to react to the rumour and the Croatia international’s latest 2018 World Cup display.
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The west Midlands outfit’s manager Nuno Espirito Santo, who should be targeting a move for another 28-year-old World Cup defender as an upgrade on Matt Doherty, may well be looking to strengthen his central defensive options ahead of the club’s Premier League return, and while he has signed Willy Boly on a permanent basis he may not be finished there.
Vida, who shone in his nation’s brilliant 3-0 win against Argentina on Thursday night which ensured they qualified for the knockout stages with a group game to spare, has only been with the Turkish giants since January but could already be on the move.
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Wolves supporters have taken to social media to give their thoughts on the rumour and Vida’s performance, and while one said “class defender had Messi in his pocket”, another said he “would complement Coady and Boly”.
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